Quite frankly, children are expensive. Pregnancy was all fun and games as you spoiled yourself with everything you craved, and it was nice glowing and being let to the front of any line. Then you gave birth, and before you knew what hit you, there were diapers, nursery items, hospital bills and a nanny to pay. Now the not-so-tiny bundle of joy has outgrown all their clothes, and you have no choice but to hit the store for another closet shopping. Maybe they even want to tag along and pick out the clothes themselves. If you don’t want to spend half your life’s savings on a single shopping trip then make use of these tips:
SWAP CLOTHES WITH OTHER PARENTS
Yeah, it’s a pretty new concept, but it works great. All you have to do is organise a meet-and-swap meeting with the women in your neighbourhood or your child’s extra-curricular groups and swap clothes.
If you want to introduce this concept to your fellow mums, just reach out and help them see how this will save them money. Let them drop the items at your place a week before the meet up so that you can sort them out and organise into groups based on gender, size and even colour. You could also ask them to clean them and make sure they don’t have any stains.
Let the parents pick out the stuff they think will fit their children well. Any that remain can be donated to local charities. Pretty simple!
SELL TO BUY
Why don’t you hold a backyard sale? You could gather all the newborn clothes and shoes that your child has outgrown then sell them at a reasonable price. This will help you raise money to stock up their closet again.
As a fair point, make sure that the clothes you want to sell are clean. Don’t include those with stains or tears. Otherwise, the parents will judge the rest by the few and simply walk away.
You could also include old playsets and toys. You could also sell old baby furniture and get something new like a modern nightstand with drawers.
TRY DISCOUNTS AND COUPONS
When used well, these could help you save up a good amount. If you frequent certain stores, they may offer you coupons and discounts. You can hold them and use them later unless they have to be redeemed at a given time. Many online stores also provide discounts on selected products, and you can just check your notifications to make sure that you don’t miss any such sales.
BUY A SEASON BEFORE
This is an excellent way of saving money on not just children’s clothes buy yours too. Clothes are usually ridiculously cheap offseason. You only need to estimate your child’s size to make sure they fit well then.
In conclusion, you can easily save up when buying clothes for your kids using the tips above. It is, however, essential to consider their comfort before the price.